BANANA PANCAKES

Inspired by one of his cousin's favourite breakfasts, these pancakes have become not only a go-to breakfast at home, but an ideal travel snack as well. They are packed with flavour, moisture and keep well out of the fridge. 

BANANA BREAD WAFFLES WITH A BLUEBERRY-PECAN RELISH [AND A GOODBYE TO THIS APARTMENT]

This is it. The last post from our fabulous little apartment in Toronto. The past two years, and this apartment, have been so good to us. We've hosted countless dinner parties, used our barbecue as a smoker, tried our hand at growing veggies, consumed a few too many cocktails, built our own furniture, celebrated holidays and birthdays, and really just loved every minute of it (minus of course, the squirrels in the roof, raccoon party on the balcony and the leaky roof).

When we moved in two years ago, it was the first time we were living together, and with N, came his waffle iron. Waffles, and slow weekend mornings have sort of become our thing, and with that, waffles seemed like the only appropriate way to say goodbye to Toronto, and to this apartment.

We move tomorrow, and then head out East for a week. We may not be giving ourselves ample unpacking time, but we sure know how to enjoy Summer. Happy almost August friends -- see you on the other side!

BANANA COCONUT MACAROONS

I consider myself someone who always needs a little something sweet at the end of a meal; a piece of chocolate, a slice of cake, or a spoonful of whatever N ordered. Passover desserts, however, never quite do it for me - they are often dry and lack any real flavour or texture. As a child, I was never a fan of macaroons, I found the pre-packaged ones quite dense and lacked the moisture that one associates to coconut. This year passover was going to be different - I was going to attempt to make my own. Next year, I will try making these, but this year, I settled on ones a co-worker had told me about. These vegan paleo macaroons called for ripe bananas instead of egg whites, and anything that resembles banana bread is (more then) fine by me. They may not look perfect like the store-bought ones, but these little macaroons are packed with flavour, moisture and have a perfect texture - great for breakfast, mid-day snacks, or dessert!

BANANA COCONUT MACAROONS

Adapted from Empowered Sustenance

Preheat oven to 350.

Ingredients:

2 ripe bananas
2 cup shredded coconut
4 tsp coconut flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract

What to do:

In a large bowl, mash the bananas. Continue to add the coconut, coconut flour and cinnamon and stir to combine.

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the coconut oil. Add the maple syrup and vanilla to the bowl and whisk gently.

Transfer the wet ingredients to the dry and stir to combine.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop roughly 1 tbsp increments of batter onto the baking sheet (use an ice cream scoop, tablespoon, spoon or your hands).* Bake for 15-30 minutes until golden brown (cooking time will depend on size of macaroons).

*Note: Shape-wise, my macaroons were definitely not perfect. An ice cream scoop with lever would probably work really well - for next time.

BANANA MUFFINS

I'm always on the hunt for tasty gluten free baked goods. Since discovering the art of baking with almond meal, gf baking has become simpler, moister, and actually quite successful (you wouldn't even know there was no gluten). So far, I've tried cookies, cake and a breakfast bread, but had yet to tackle muffins. My celiac sister had asked me to recommend a banana based breakfast muffin, so I set out to find the perfect recipe. Success!

BANANA MUFFINS // yields 9-12 muffins

If you only have 1 banana lying around, this recipe can easily be halved - yields about 6 muffins.

Adapted from Minimalist Baker

Preheat oven to 350.

Ingredients:

2 eggs
2 ripe bananas
3 tbsp honey
3 tbsp almond milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup almond meal
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp oat flour*

*Note: Can easily be made by grinding oats in a magic bullet until you've created a powder

What to do:

In a large bowl, beat the egg. Add the 2 bananas and mash well.

Add the honey, milk, vanilla and baking powder to the banana mixture and stir to combine.

Add the almond meal and oat flour to the bowl and stir just enough to combine. Do not over mix.

Allow the batter to rest while you grease the baking pan. Divide the batter into 9 muffin slots.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Once cool enough to touch, transfer the muffins to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.